Kansas Guard retires 12 older KC-135 tankers

[unhappycamper]

Kansas Guard retires 12 older KC-135 tankers
By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 27, 2008 6:49:51 EDT

TOPEKA, Kan. — A dozen Eisenhower-era refueling tankers are leaving Kansas and heading for retirement in Arizona, even as debate continues in Congress over a contract to build replacement aircraft.

The aircraft have been parked on the ramp at Topeka’s Forbes Field since last fall as the Kansas Air National Guard moves toward using only new versions of the tankers, KC-135Rs. Ground crews have been keeping the old planes, KC-135Es, in a federally mandated “warm ready” state in case of emergency, even though the Kansas Guard has no one certified to fly them.

Last month, the Air Force awarded a $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., to replace all the KC135s. It passed over Boeing Co., which had been considered the heavy favorite. Boeing built the KC-135s starting in 1955, and they are a military version of its 707 commercial airliner.

The 190th Air Refueling Wing based at Forbes flies 12 of the newer KC-135s, making space limited for operations, said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, adjutant general for Kansas.

“We want to keep it as open as possible,” said Bunting, who approached Rep. Nancy Boyda about accelerating the retirement of tankers.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_guardtankers_032608/